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Wortstellung word order, aka “SYNTAX” TIME, MANNER, PLACE German syntax varies from that of English in the position of expressions of time (wann?), manner (wie?) and place (wo?). z.B. "Erik is coming home on the train today." English word order in such cases is place, manner, time... the exact opposite of German. In English it would sound odd to say, "Erik is coming today on the train home," but that is precisely how German wants it said: time, manner, place. z.B. "Erik kommt heute mit der Bahn nach Hause." Wann - Wie - Wo Time - Manner - Place

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Wortstellung word order, aka “SYNTAX” The only exception would be if you want to start the sentence with one of these elements for emphasis. z.B.: "Heute kommt Erik mit der Bahn nach Hause." (Emphasis on "today.") But even in this case, the elements are still in the prescribed order: time ("heute"), manner ("mit der Bahn"), place ("nach Hause"). If we start with a different element, the elements that follow remain in their usual order, as in: "Mit der Bahn kommt Erik heute nach Hause." (Emphasis on "by train" - not by car or plane.)